classicism through modernism

This music review that was in the NYTimes this morning is not directly about dance at all, but I think there are analogies that can be drawn to many of our discussions. There is one school of thought (to which, for what it's worth, I subscribe) that the traditional repertory can be renewed through the performers -- not the tinkerings of would-be choreographers or dramaturgs -- and that this renewal often comes after the performer has experience with new repertory. If you only dance James, Albrecht and Siegfried you will get stale. If you dance Apollo, Four Temperaments, Monotones -- or Onegin, or Forsythe, or Neumeier, you will bring something of what you learned with you the next time you dance those classical roles.

This review speaks to the same idea, in music, and I found it interesting.